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mailx(1)							      mailx(1)

NAME
       mailx, Mail - Sends and receives mail

SYNOPSIS
   Sending Mail
       mailx [-dinvF] [-h number] [-r address] [-s subject] user...

       Mail [-dinvF] [-h number] [-r address] [-s subject] user...

   Handling Mail
       mailx [-dinNveH] -f  [file]

       Mail [-dinNveH] -f  [file]

       mailx [-dinNveH] [-u user]

       Mail [-dinNveH] [-u user]

       The  mailx  and	Mail commands allow you to read, write, send, receive,
       store, and discard mail messages.

       [Tru64 UNIX]  See the section Internationalization under	 the  DESCRIP‐
       TION  section  for more information about the internationalization fea‐
       tures of the mailx command.

STANDARDS
       Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to industry	 stan‐
       dards as follows:

       mailx():	 XCU4.2

       Refer  to  the  standards(5)  reference page for more information about
       industry standards and associated tags.

OPTIONS
       Causes the mailx command to display debugging information. Messages are
       not  sent  while	 in  debug mode.  Tests for the presence of mail.  The
       mailx command prints nothing and exits with a successful return code if
       there is mail to read.  Reads in the contents of your mbox or the spec‐
       ified file for processing.  When you quit, mailx writes undeleted  mes‐
       sages back to this file.	 Records the message in a file named after the
       first recipient. Overrides the record option, if	 set.	Specifies  the
       number  of  network  “hops”  made so far.  This is provided for network
       software to avoid infinite loops.  Prints header summary only.  Ignores
       tty  Interrupt  signals.	 Useful when using mailx on noisy phone lines.
       Inhibits the reading of the  /usr/share/lib/Mail.rc  file.   Suppresses
       the  initial printing of headers.  Changes sender's address to address.
       The original sender must be a trusted user. See	sendmail(8)  for  more
       information  on trusted users.  Specifies a subject for a message to be
       created.	 Activates mailx for a specified users mailbox; short  way  of
       doing  mailx  -f /var/spool/mail/user.  You must have access permission
       to the  specified  user's  mailbox.   Puts  mailx  into	verbose	 mode.
       Details of delivery are displayed on the user's terminal.

DESCRIPTION
       The  mailx  and	Mail commands allow you to do the following: Compose a
       message and send it.  Receive a message and look at it.	Store received
       messages in your mailbox or in folders.	Discard messages.

       The  mailx command uses two types of mailboxes:	the system mailbox and
       the personal mailbox.  The system mailbox is a file assigned to a  par‐
       ticular user.  The file is created when mail arrives for a user ID, and
       it is deleted when all the messages are removed from the file.	It  is
       not  deleted  if you have specified the keep option in your file, or if
       the /var/spool/mail directory has no write permissions  for  other.   A
       separate	 system	 mailbox can exist for each user ID on the system. The
       mailx  command  keeps   all   system   mailboxes	  in   the   directory
       /var/spool/mail.	  Each	system mailbox is named by the user ID associ‐
       ated with it.  For example, if your user ID is jeanne, then your system
       mailbox is /var/spool/mail/jeanne.

       The  personal  mailbox  is  a  file assigned to a particular user.  The
       mailx command creates a file with the name $HOME/mbox when you  receive
       mail  from  the system mailbox.	For example, if your home directory is
       /u/lance, the mailx command creates the file /u/lance/mbox as your per‐
       sonal  mailbox.	 The  system  deletes  this file when all messages are
       removed from the personal mailbox.  When you use the mailx  command  to
       view  mail in your system mailbox, the mailx command automatically puts
       all messages that you have read but did not delete into	your  personal
       mailbox.	  The  messages remain in your personal mailbox until you move
       them to a folder or delete them.

       Folders provide a way to save messages in an  organized	fashion.   You
       can  create as many folders as you need.	 Name each folder according to
       the subject matter of the messages that it contains.  Using  the	 mailx
       command,	 you can put a message into a folder from your system mailbox,
       from your personal mailbox, from the dead.letter file, or from  another
       folder.

       To  send	 a  message to one or more persons, enter mailx on the command
       line with arguments that are the network addresses of  the  people  you
       want  to	 receive the message. When mailx starts, you can type the mes‐
       sage using an editor such as ed.	 When you are finished with  the  mes‐
       sage,  press  <Return> at the end of a line, and use an End-of-File key
       sequence at the beginning of the next line to exit the editor and  send
       the message.

       When  mail  arrives for you from another user, the mail system puts the
       mail in your system mailbox (/var/spool/mail/user).  The command	 shell
       will notify you that mail has arrived before displaying its next prompt
       (that is, notification is synchronous), provided that the MAIL environ‐
       ment  variable is set and the interval specified by MAILCHECK (mail for
       csh) has elapsed since the shell last checked for  mail.	  If  you  are
       logged  in, the shell sends a message to your terminal to tell you that
       new mail has arrived.  If you are not logged in, a message is  sent  to
       your  terminal  the  next time you log in.  The notification message is
       the value of the MAILMSG environment variable.  The default message  is
       as follows: [YOU HAVE NEW MAIL]

       To  look at the contents of your mailbox, enter the mailx command with‐
       out options on the command line.	 The program displays a listing of the
       messages in your mailbox and allows you to look at them, reply to them,
       save them, dispose of them, and so on.

       [Tru64 UNIX]  Tru64 UNIX provides locking for the mailbox  files.   The
       style  of locking used depends on how it is set in the rc.config.common
       file.  For more information, see mail_manual_setup(7).

   Reading Incoming Mail
       To receive and read incoming mail, enter mailx with no arguments: mailx

       The    mailx    command	  then	  checks    your    system     mailbox
       (/var/spool/mail/user)  and  displays a one-line entry for each message
       in the system mailbox similar to the following:	"/var/spool/mail/geo":
       2 messages 2 new >N  1 amy Thu Sep 17 14:36  13/359 "Dept Meeting"
	N  2 amy Thu Sep 17 16:28  13/416 "Dept Meeting Delayed" ?

       The  > (right angle bracket) indicates the current message, or the mes‐
       sage that subcommands act on if you do not specify a message number  or
       list  of	 message numbers.  The first field for each message contains a
       one-letter indicator of the status of the message.  Possible indicators
       are  as	follows:  The message is stored in your personal mailbox.  The
       message is new.	The message is held (preserved) in your	 system	 mail‐
       box.   You  have read the message.  The message is unread.  The message
       was listed in the mailbox before, but you have not looked at  the  con‐
       tents  of the message.  You have saved or written the message to a file
       or folder.  The message was read, but was not deleted or saved.

       The other fields in the listing (in order) represent: The  number  that
       mailbox	subcommands  use to refer to the message.  User address of the
       sender.	Date the message was received,	including  day	of  the	 week,
       month, day, and time.  Size of the message in number of lines and char‐
       acters, including header information.   The  contents  of  the  subject
       field of the message, if the message has one.

       From  the  mailbox  prompt  (?),	 you can enter subcommands to look at,
       reply to, save, discard, or otherwise manage the contents of the	 mail‐
       box.   To display a summary of some of the subcommands that you can use
       to handle mail in your mailbox, enter a ?  (question mark) at the mail‐
       box prompt.  Note that the behavior of the <Return> key has changed for
       XCU4.2 compliance.  Using this  key  with  no  following	 argument  now
       causes the current message to be displayed, and not the next message.

       Many  mailbox  subcommands allow you to specify groups of messages upon
       which to perform the subcommand.	 Subcommands that allow groups of mes‐
       sages  use  the argument message_list in the command format.  For exam‐
       ple, the format of the from  (or	 f)  subcommand	 (display  information
       about messages) appears as:

       ? from [message_list]

       In  this	 format, message_list can be one of the following: One or more
       message numbers separated by spaces.  For example:

	      ? f 1 2 4 7 A range of message numbers indicated	by  the	 first
	      and last numbers in the range separated by a dash.  For example,
	      the following subcommand:

	      ? f 2-5

	      is the same as:

	      ? f 2 3 4 5 An example of one or	more  addresses	 separated  by
	      spaces  to  apply the subcommand to messages received from those
	      addresses follows:

	      ? f amy geo@zeus

	      The characters entered for an address need not match the address
	      exactly.	 They  must  only be contained in the address field of
	      the messages in either uppercase or lowercase  letters.	There‐
	      fore,  the  request for address amy matches all of the following
	      addresses (and many others): amy AmY  amy@zeus  hamy  A  string,
	      preceded	by a / (slash), to match against the Subject: field of
	      the messages follows:

	      ? f /meet

	      This applies the subcommand to all messages whose Subject: field
	      contains the letters meet in uppercase or lowercase. The charac‐
	      ters entered for a match pattern do not have to match  the  Sub‐
	      ject:  field  exactly.   They must only be contained in the Sub‐
	      ject: field of the messages in either  uppercase	or  lowercase.
	      Therefore,  the request for subject meet matches all of the fol‐
	      lowing subjects (and many others): Meeting on Thursday  Come  to
	      meeting tomorrow MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS

       The special character (dot) addresses the current message, * (asterisk)
       addresses all messages, ^ (circumflex) addresses	 the  first  undeleted
       message,	 and $ (dollar sign) addresses the last message. The character
       sequence :c addresses all messages of type c, where c  is  one  of  the
       following:  Deleted  messages  New  messages Old messages Read messages
       Unread messages

       All commands that take a message list will default to the current  mes‐
       sage number if no list is specified.

       When  the mailx command is processing a mailbox, the mailbox prompt (?)
       is displayed to indicate that it	 is  waiting  for  input.   When  this
       prompt is displayed, you can enter any of the following mailbox subcom‐
       mands.  The subcommand abbreviation in parentheses can be used  instead
       of the full subcommand name.  Echoes the number of the current message.
       Allows you to write comments in mail script files.  Goes to the	previ‐
       ous  message and displays it.  If given a number argument of n, goes to
       the nth previous message and displays it.  Displays a brief summary  of
       mailbox	subcommands.   Executes shell_command.	Displays all currently
       defined aliases.	 With the argument of a previously defined alias, dis‐
       plays  the  expansion  of the alias. With at least two arguments, alias
       and address_list (a space-separated list of addresses), creates	a  new
       alias  or  changes  an  old  alias.  Identical to the group subcommand.
       Informs mailx that the addresses listed in alternate_list all refer  to
       you.  The  alternates subcommand is useful if you have accounts on sev‐
       eral machines. Then, when you reply to messages, mailx does not send  a
       copy of the message to any of the addresses given in alternate_list. If
       you enter the alternate subcommand with no argument, mailx displays the
       current	set  of	 alternate  names.   Changes your working directory to
       directory.  If no directory is given, it changes to your	 login	direc‐
       tory.  Appends each message in message_list in turn to the end of file.
       Displays the filename in quotes, followed by the line count and charac‐
       ter  count,  on	your terminal. Does not mark the appended messages for
       deletion when you quit.	Saves the specified messages in a  file	 whose
       name  is	 derived  from	the author of the message to be saved, without
       marking the messages as saved.  Otherwise equivalent to the  Save  sub‐
       command.	  Marks	 the  messages	in message_list to be deleted when you
       quit mailx.  Deleted messages are not  saved  in	 mbox,	nor  are  they
       available for most other subcommands. However, you can restore messages
       that you have deleted while  in	the  same  mailbox  session  (see  the
       undelete	 subcommand).  If  you	delete	a message and either change to
       another mailbox or quit the  mailbox  with  the	quit  subcommand,  the
       deleted	message	 cannot	 be recalled.  Identical to the ignore subcom‐
       mand.  Deletes the current message and displays the next	 message.   If
       there  is no next message, mailx displays the message, at EOF.  Identi‐
       cal to the dp subcommand.  Displays the character string string on  the
       command	line.	Invokes	 the alternate editor that you can define with
       the set EDITOR= statement and loads message_list into the editor.  When
       you  exit  the  editor, any changes made during the editing session are
       saved  in  the  messages	 in  message_list.  The	 default   editor   is
       /usr/bin/ex.   Exits  to	 the  shell without changing the mailbox being
       processed.  The mailbox returns to the condition that it	 was  in  when
       mailx  was  started.   Messages	marked	to be deleted are not deleted.
       Identical to the xit subcommand.	 Identical to the  folder  subcommand.
       Switches to a new mail file or folder.  With no arguments, displays the
       name of the mailbox that you are currently reading. If an  argument  is
       included,  it stores the current mailbox with changes (such as messages
       deleted) and reads in the new mailbox specified by the  name  argument.
       Identical to the file subcommand.

	      Some  special conventions are recognized for the name: Refers to
	      the   previous   file.	Refers	 to   the    system    mailbox
	      (/var/spool/mail/user).	 Refers	  to   your  personal  mailbox
	      ($HOME/mbox).  Refers to a file in your folder directory (deter‐
	      mined  by	 the value of the folder option; see Enabling and Dis‐
	      abling Options).	Lists the names of the folders in your	folder
	      directory	 (see  the  folder  option  in	Enabling and Disabling
	      Options).	 Responds to a message, recording the  response	 in  a
	      file  whose  name	 is  derived  from  the author of the message.
	      Overrides the record option, if set.  (See  also	the  Followup,
	      Save,  and Copy subcommands and the outfolder option.)  Responds
	      to the first message in message_list, sending the message to the
	      author  of  each	message	 in message_list.  The subject line is
	      taken from the first message and the response is recorded	 in  a
	      file whose name is derived from the author of the first message.
	      (See also the followup, Save, and Copy  commands	and  the  out‐
	      folder  option.)	 Displays  the	headers	 of  messages  in mes‐
	      sage_list.  Identical to the alias subcommand.  Lists the	 head‐
	      ers  in  the  current  group of messages (each group of messages
	      contains 20 messages  by	default;  change  this	with  the  set
	      screen=  statement).  If the mailbox contains more messages than
	      can be displayed on the screen at one  time,  information	 about
	      only  the first group of messages is displayed.  To see informa‐
	      tion about the rest of the messages, use the h subcommand with a
	      message number that is in the next range of messages, or use the
	      z subcommand to change the current message  group.   Displays  a
	      brief  summary  of  mailbox  subcommands.	  Identical  to	 the ?
	      (question mark) subcommand.  Marks each message in  message_list
	      to  be  saved  in	 your  system  mailbox	(/var/spool/mail/user)
	      instead of in $HOME/mbox.	 Does not override the delete  subcom‐
	      mand.  Identical	to  the preserve subcommand.  Construction for
	      conditional execution of mailx subcommands.  Subcommands follow‐
	      ing if are executed if condition is TRUE.	 Subcommands following
	      else are executed if condition is not TRUE.   The	 else  is  not
	      required.	 The  endif  subcommand	 ends  the construction and is
	      required. The condition can be receive (receiving mail) or  send
	      (sending	mail).	 Adds  the  header fields in field_list to the
	      list of fields to be ignored.  Ignored fields are not  displayed
	      when  you	 look at a message with the type or print subcommands.
	      Use this subcommand to suppress machine-generated header fields.
	      Use  the	Type  and  Print subcommands to print a message in its
	      entirety, including ignored fields.  If ignore is executed  with
	      no  arguments, it lists the current set of ignored fields. Iden‐
	      tical to the discard subcommand.	Displays a list of valid mailx
	      subcommands.   Lists  other names for the local host.  Activates
	      the mail editor to allow you to create and  send	a  message  to
	      people  specified	 in address_list. The newly created message is
	      independent from any received messages.  Indicates that the mes‐
	      sages  in message_list be sent to your personal mailbox when you
	      quit.  This operation is the default action  for	messages  that
	      you have looked at if you are looking at your system mailbox and
	      the hold option  is  not	set.   Displays	 the  messages	inmes‐
	      sage_list using the defined pager program to control the display
	      to the screen. Identical to the page subcommand.	Like more, but
	      also  displays  ignored  header  fields.	(See more and ignore.)
	      Marks each message in message_list  as  not  having  been	 read.
	      Identical	 to  the  New,	unread, and Unread subcommands.	 Marks
	      each message in message_list as not having been read.  Identical
	      to the new, unread, and Unread subcommands.  Makes the next mes‐
	      sage in the mailbox the current message, and displays that  mes‐
	      sage.  With an argument list, it displays the next matching mes‐
	      sage.  Displays the messages in message_list using  the  defined
	      pager program to control the display to the screen. Identical to
	      the more subcommand.  Like the page subcommand,  but  also  dis‐
	      plays  ignored  header fields. Identical to the More subcommand.
	      Pipes the message through shell_command.	The message is treated
	      as if it were read.  If no arguments are given, the current mes‐
	      sage is piped through the command specified by the value of  the
	      cmd  option.  If the page option is set, a formfeed character is
	      inserted after each message.  Identical to the hold  subcommand.
	      Displays	the  messages  in  message_list. Identical to the type
	      subcommand, or simply pressing the <Return> key  with  no	 argu‐
	      ment.   Like  print,  but	 also  displays ignored header fields.
	      (See print and ignore.) Identical to the Type subcommand.	  Ends
	      the  session  and	 returns to the shell.	All messages that were
	      not deleted  or  saved  are  stored  in  your  personal  mailbox
	      ($HOME/mbox).   All  messages  marked  with hold or preserve and
	      those messages that you did not look at are saved in the	system
	      mailbox  (/var/spool/mail/user). If the quit subcommand is given
	      while editing a mailbox file with the -f option, then  the  edit
	      file  is	saved  with  the  changes.  If the edit file cannot be
	      saved, mailx does not exit.  Use the  exit  subcommand  to  exit
	      without  saving  the changes.  Allows you to reply to the sender
	      of message and to all others who	received  copies  of  message.
	      Identical	 to  the respond subcommand.  Allows you to reply only
	      to the sender of message. Identical to the  Respond  subcommand.
	      Allows  you  to reply to the sender of message and to all others
	      who received copies of message. Identical to the	reply  subcom‐
	      mand.   Allows you to reply only to the sender of message. Iden‐
	      tical to the  Reply  subcommand.	 Adds  the  header  fields  in
	      field_list  to  the  list	 of  fields  to be retained.  Retained
	      fields are displayed when you look at a message with the type or
	      print  subcommands.  Use	this subcommand to define which header
	      fields you want displayed.  Use the Type and  Print  subcommands
	      to  print	 a  message in its entirety, including fields that are
	      not retained.  If retain is executed with no arguments, it lists
	      the current set of retained fields.  Saves message_list, includ‐
	      ing header information, to  file	(or  to	 a  folder).  If  file
	      already  exists,	message_list is appended to file. Displays the
	      filename and the size of the file when  the  operation  is  com‐
	      plete.  If  you  save  a	message to a file, that message is not
	      returned to the system mailbox nor saved in your personal	 mail‐
	      box when you quit the mailx command. If a filename is not speci‐
	      fied, the mailx command saves  the  messages  in	your  personal
	      mailbox.	 Saves	the specified messages in a file whose name is
	      derived from the author of the first message.  The name  of  the
	      file  is taken to be the author's name with all network address‐
	      ing stripped off.	 (See also the Copy,  followup,	 and  Followup
	      subcommands,  and	 the  outfolder option.)  Displays the options
	      that are currently enabled. If  arguments	 are  specified,  sets
	      options in option_list (a list of binary options, those that are
	      either set or not set); or sets an option that must be  assigned
	      a	 value.	 (See Enabling and Disabling Options for a description
	      of valid options.)  Invokes an interactive version of the shell.
	      Displays	the  sizes  in lines and characters of the messages in
	      message_list.  Reads and executes the mailx commands from	 file.
	      Displays	the  top  few  lines of the messages specified by mes‐
	      sage_list.  The number of lines displayed is determined  by  the
	      valued option toplines and defaults to 5.	 Marks the messages in
	      message_list to be moved from your system mailbox to  your  per‐
	      sonal  mailbox  when you quit the mailx command, even though you
	      have not read the listed messages.  The messages appear in  your
	      personal	mailbox	 as  unread  messages. When you use touch, the
	      last message in message_list becomes the current message.	  Dis‐
	      plays  the messages in message_list. Identical to the print sub‐
	      command.	Like type, but also displays  ignored  header  fields.
	      (See  type  and  ignore.)	 Identical  to	the  Print subcommand.
	      Deletes the specified alias names.  If a	specified  alias  does
	      not exist, the results are unspecified.  Removes the messages in
	      message_list from the list of messages to be  deleted  when  you
	      quit  mailx.   Without a message_list, undelete recalls the last
	      deleted message.	Marks each message in message_list as not hav‐
	      ing  been	 read.	Identical  to the new, New, and Unread subcom‐
	      mands.  Marks each message in message_list as  not  having  been
	      read.  Identical	to the new, New, and unread subcommands.  Dis‐
	      cards the values of the options specified in option_list.	  This
	      action  is the inverse of the set subcommand.  Displays the ver‐
	      sion banner for the mailx command.  Invokes  the	visual	editor
	      and  loads  message_list	into  the  editor. (This editor can be
	      defined with the set VISUAL= statement.) When you exit the  edi‐
	      tor,  any changes made during the editing session are saved back
	      to the messages in message_list.	Appends the messages specified
	      in  message_list to file.	 Displays the filename and the size of
	      the file when the operation is complete.	Does not include  mes‐
	      sage  headers  in	 the  file.  Identical to the exit subcommand.
	      Changes the current message group (group	of  20	messages)  and
	      displays the headers of the messages in that group. If a + or no
	      argument is given, then headers in the next group are shown.  If
	      a	 -  argument  is  given, the headers in the previous group are
	      shown.

   Sending Mail
       You can use the mailx command in one of two ways to  send  information.
       You  can	 use  the  mailx command's built-in editor to both compose and
       send a short message.  You can also use the mailx command to  send  any
       text  file  to another user.  The file can be a letter you have written
       using your favorite editor, a source file for a program you have	 writ‐
       ten, or any other file in text format.

       The  mailx  command  provides a line-oriented editor for composing mes‐
       sages. This editor allows you to enter each line	 of  the  message  and
       then  press  <Return> to get a new line to enter more text.  You cannot
       change the text after you press <Return>.  However,  before  you	 press
       <Return>,  you can change text on the current line by using <Backspace>
       and <Delete> to erase the text and then	enter  the  replacement	 text.
       Although	 you  cannot  change  text  on	a  line	 once you have pressed
       <Return>, you can change the contents of your message before sending it
       by using the visual or edit subcommand to edit the message.

       By  default,  mailx treats lines beginning with the ~ (tilde) character
       as special while you are composing a message.  For  instance,  entering
       ~m  on  a  line by itself places a copy of the current message into the
       response, shifting it to the right by one tab stop.

       Other escapes set up subject fields, add and delete recipients  of  the
       message, and allow you to escape to an editor to revise the message, or
       to a shell to run other commands.  You can change the Escape  character
       to  something  other  than  a tilde with the set escape= statement.  To
       view a summary of many useful commands, enter ~?	 on a line  by	itself
       while in the mail editor.

       The following list provides a summary of the mail editor commands.  Use
       these commands only while in the mail editor.   The  editor  recognizes
       commands	 only  if  you	enter  them  at	 the  beginning of a new line.
       Escapes to command mode.	 Displays a summary of the mailx  subcommands.
       Executes	 the shell command and returns to the message.	Simulates End-
       of-File	(terminates  message  input).	Performs   the	 command-level
       request.	  Valid	 only  when  sending  a	 message  while	 reading mail.
       Inserts the autograph string from the sign= option  into	 the  message.
       Inserts	the  autograph	string from the Sign= option into the message.
       Adds names in address_list to the  list	of  people  to	receive	 blind
       copies  of  the	message.  Can only be used to add to (not to change or
       delete) the contents of the Bcc: list.  Adds names in  address_list  to
       the  list  of people to receive copies of the message. Can only be used
       to add to (not to change or delete)  the	 contents  of  the  Cc:	 list.
       Dumps  core.   Appends the file dead.letter from your home directory to
       the current end of the message.	Invokes the alternate editor using the
       text of the current message as input.  (This editor can be defined with
       the set EDITOR= statement.) When you exit that editor,  you  return  to
       the  mail editor, where you can continue appending text to the message,
       or you can send the message by quitting the  mailx  command.   Includes
       one  or	more  additional messages in the current message to forward to
       another user.  This subcommand reads each message in  message_list  and
       appends	it  to	the end of the current message, but it does not indent
       the appended messages. This subcommand is also used to append  messages
       for  reference  when the margins are too wide to imbed with the ~m sub‐
       command.	 The ~f subcommand works only if you entered the  mail	editor
       from  the  mailbox  prompt using the mail subcommand, the reply subcom‐
       mand, or the Reply subcommand.  Performs the same operation as  the  ~f
       command	escape,	 except	 that all headers are included in the message,
       regardless of previous discard, ignore, and  retain  commands.	Allows
       you  to	add  or to change information in all of the header fields. The
       system displays each of the four header fields, one at a time.  You can
       view  the  contents of each field and delete or add information to that
       field.  Press <Return> to save any changes to that field and to display
       the next field and its contents.	 Inserts the value of the named option
       into the text of the message.  For example,  ~A	is  equivalent	to  ~i
       Sign.   Reads  message_list  into the current messagefor reference pur‐
       poses. This subcommand reads each message in message_list  and  appends
       it  to  the  current message.  The included message is indented one tab
       character from the normal left margin of the message.  This  subcommand
       works only if you entered the mail editor from the mailbox prompt using
       the mail subcommand, the reply subcommand, or the Reply subcommand.  If
       no  messages are specified, it reads the current message.  Performs the
       same operation as the ~m command escape, except that  all  headers  are
       included	 in  the  message, regardless of previous discard, ignore, and
       retain commands.	 Displays the message as it currently exists, prefaced
       by  the	message header fields.	Quits the editor, aborting the message
       being created without sending it. Saves the message in the  dead.letter
       file  in your home directory, unless the nosave option is set. The pre‐
       vious contents of the dead.letter file are overwritten by the partially
       completed message.

	      You  can	also  quit  the	 editor	 by  using  the	 Interrupt key
	      sequence.	 Reads the named file into the message.	 If the	 argu‐
	      ment  begins with !, the rest of the string is taken as an arbi‐
	      trary system command and is executed, with the  standard	output
	      inserted	into  the  message.  Changes the Subject: field to the
	      phrase specified in string.  Adds the addresses in  address_list
	      to the To: field of the message. Can only be used to add to (not
	      to change or delete) the contents of the To: list.  Invokes  the
	      visual editor using the text of the current message as the input
	      file.  (This editor can be defined using the set VISUAL=	state‐
	      ment.) When you exit that editor, you return to the mail editor,
	      where you can continue appending text to the message, or you can
	      send the message by quitting the mailx command.  Writes the mes‐
	      sage to the named file.  Exits as with ~q, except the message is
	      not  saved in dead.letter.  Pipes the message through command as
	      a filter. If command gives no output or  terminates  abnormally,
	      it  retains  the	original  text of the message.	Otherwise, the
	      output of command replaces the current message.  The fmt command
	      is  often	 used as command to format the message.	 Allows you to
	      use the ~ (tilde) character in a message without it being inter‐
	      preted  as  a  command  prefix.	The  sequence  ~~ (two tildes)
	      results in only one ~ being sent in the message.

   Customizing the Mail Program
       The system manager uses the /usr/share/lib/Mail.rc file to  define  the
       initial	configuration  for the mailx command.  The subcommands in this
       file override the default characteristics of the mailx command for  all
       users  on  the system.  Although the initial configuration can meet the
       needs of most users, you can alter it  by  creating  the	 $HOME/.mailrc
       file.   Subcommands  in	this  file  override  similar  subcommands  in
       /usr/share/lib/Mail.rc when you run the mailx command.	The  following
       subcommands  are	 not  legal  in the start-up file: !, Copy, edit, fol‐
       lowup, Followup, hold, mail, preserve, reply, Reply, shell, and visual.

       There are four mail subcommands that are most commonly  used  to	 alter
       the  characteristics  of	 the  mailx  session:  set,  unset, alias, and
       ignore.	The set and unset subcommands enable and disable mail options,
       the alias subcommand shortens how you address mail, and the ignore sub‐
       command suppresses message header fields.

   Enabling and Disabling Options
       The following are environment variables taken from the execution	 envi‐
       ronment	and are not alterable within mailx: The name of the locale for
       performing character conversions on outgoing messages.  The pathname of
       the  user's home directory.  The name of the locale for displaying mail
       messages.   The	name  of  the	start-up   file.    The	  default   is
       $HOME/.mailrc.

       Use  the	 set  subcommand to enable options and the unset subcommand to
       disable options.	 Options  can  be  either  binary  or  valued.	Binary
       options	are  either set or unset, while valued options can be set to a
       specific value. You can set options by placing set subcommand lines  in
       your $HOME/.mailrc file.

       The syntax for enabling options using the set subcommand is as follows:
       set [option_list | option=value]

       The syntax for disabling options using the unset subcommand is as  fol‐
       lows: unset [option_list]

       The  following  is  a  list of binary options (those that can be set or
       unset): Off by default; all network names with the same login name  are
       treated	as  being  the	same.	Causes	messages  saved	 in mbox to be
       appended (added to the end) rather than prepended (added to the	begin‐
       ning).	Causes mailx to prompt you for the subject of each message you
       send.  If you respond with a  newline  (carriage	 return),  no  subject
       field  is  set.	 This  option  is enabled by default.  Causes mailx to
       prompt you for the address of people to receive blind carbon copies  of
       the message.  Responding with a newline indicates satisfaction with the
       current list.  The default is noaskbcc.	Causes you to be prompted  for
       the  addresses  of  people to receive copies of the message. Responding
       with a newline indicates	 your  satisfaction  with  the	current	 list.
       Prompts for subject if it is not specified on the command line with the
       -s option.  Identical to ask.  Causes the delete subcommand  to	behave
       like dp. Thus, after deleting a message, the next one is typed automat‐
       ically.	Enables the special-case treatment of !	 (exclamation  points)
       in escape command lines as in vi.  The default is nobang.  Causes mailx
       to display debugging information.  The mailx command does not send mail
       while in debug mode. Same as specifying -d on the command line.	Causes
       mailx to interpret a period alone on a line as the terminator of a mes‐
       sage  you  are  sending.	 Reverses the meaning of the R and r commands.
       The default is noflipr.	Enables printing of the	 header	 summary  when
       entering	 mailx.	 This option is enabled by default.  Holds messages in
       the system mailbox by default.  Causes Interrupt signals from your ter‐
       minal  to  be  ignored and echoed as @'s.  Makes mailx refuse to accept
       End-of-File key sequence as the end of a message or as the quit subcom‐
       mand.  Related  to  the	dot subcommand.	 Truncates the mailbox to zero
       length when it is empty, instead of removing it.	 This option  is  dis‐
       abled  by  default.  Keeps messages that have been saved in other files
       in the mailbox, instead of deleting them.  The default  is  nokeepsave.
       Causes  the  sender  to	be  included  in the alias expansion, and thus
       receives copies of messages.  Usually, when  an	alias  containing  the
       sender  is  expanded,  the  sender is removed from the expansion.  Used
       when replying to a message sent	to  several  users  and	 prevents  the
       addresses  of the recipients from being made relative to the address of
       the original author.  You can use this variable only on a network where
       all  systems  can connect to one another directly.  Prevents mailx from
       copying the partial letter to the file dead.letter in your home	direc‐
       tory  when  a  message  is terminated with two Interrupt key sequences.
       Causes the files used to record outgoing messages to be located in  the
       directory  specified  by the folder option unless the pathname is abso‐
       lute.  The default is nooutfolder.  (See	 the  folder  option  and  the
       Save,  Copy,  followup,	and Followup subcommands.)  Inserts a formfeed
       after each message sent through the pipe when used with the  pipe  com‐
       mand.   The  default is nopage.	Suppresses the printing of the program
       banner when mailx starts. (The banner is the line that shows  the  name
       of  the mail program.)  Reverses the sense of the reply and Reply mail‐
       box subcommands.	 Enables saving of messages in dead.letter  on	inter‐
       rupt  or	 delivery  error.   (See DEAD= for a description of this file.
       This option is enabled by default.)  Waits for the background mailer to
       finish before returning.	 The default is nosendwait.  Prints the recip‐
       ient's name instead of the author's name	 when  displaying  the	header
       summary	and the message is from the user.  Runs mailx in verbose mode;
       the actual delivery of messages is displayed on	the  user's  terminal.
       Same as using the -v option on the command line.

       The following is a list of valued options (those that can be assigned a
       value). The syntax for assigning values is set option=value.  Sets  the
       default	command	 for  the pipe subcommand.  There is no default value.
       Off by default; used to convert uucp addresses  for  sendmail.	Causes
       the paging program to automatically be invoked for messages that exceed
       number lines.  Specifies the name of the file in which to save  partial
       letters	in case of untimely interrupt or delivery errors.  The default
       is $HOME/dead.letter.  Defines the text editor invoked by  the  ~e  and
       edit  subcommands.   The	 absolute pathname must be given.  The default
       editor is /usr/bin/ex.  Defines a character to use in the  place	 of  ~
       (tilde)	to  denote  escapes.  Sets the locale for performing character
       conversion on outgoing messages.	 The default  is  None.	  Defines  the
       name  of the directory to use for storing folders of messages.  If this
       name begins with a / (slash), mailx considers  it  to  be  an  absolute
       pathname;  otherwise,  the  folder  directory is found relative to your
       home directory.	Specifies a string  that  is  prefixed	to  each  line
       inserted into the message by the ~m command escape.  The default string
       is one <Tab> character.	Sets the locale for displaying mail  messages.
       The  default  is	 C.  Specifies the command (and arguments) to use when
       listing the contents of the  folder  directory.	 The  default  is  ls.
       Specifies    the	   name	   of	the   system   mailbox,	  by   default
       /var/spool/mail/username.  Specifies the name of the file in  which  to
       save  messages  that have been read. The exit subcommand overrides this
       function, as does saving the message explicitly in another  file.   The
       default is $HOME/mbox.  Specifies the pathname of the paging program to
       use for the more subcommand or when the crt option is set.  If  you  do
       not  specify  a value for PAGER, the system uses /usr/bin/pg.  Sets the
       command mode prompt to string.  The default is ?.  Specifies the	 path‐
       name  of the file (relative to $HOME) used to record all outgoing mail.
       A copy of all the messages you send out is saved in this file.	Review
       this file periodically and delete all unnecessary messages.

	      The mailx subcommands do not create directories, so any directo‐
	      ries included in the pathname must already  exist	 before	 using
	      this  subcommand.	  Do not include the home directory as part of
	      the pathname. If record is not defined, then copies of  outgoing
	      mail are not saved.  Controls how many lines of the message list
	      are displayed at a time.	You can set this option to show a cer‐
	      tain  number of lines on the screen.  Each message in your mail‐
	      box has a one-line header in the message list. If you have  more
	      than 24 messages, the first headers from the message list scroll
	      past the top of your  screen  whenever  you  display  the	 list.
	      Specifies an alternative command for delivering mail.  Specifies
	      the pathname of the shell to use in the !	 and ~!	  subcommands.
	      If  this	option	is  not	 defined,  your default shell is used.
	      Specifies the variable inserted into the text of a message  when
	      the  ~a (autograph) subcommand is given.	(See also the ~i tilde
	      escape.)	There is no default  value.   Specifies	 the  variable
	      inserted	into  the  text of a message when the ~A subcommand is
	      given.  (See also the ~i tilde escape.)	There  is  no  default
	      value.   Specifies  the  number of lines of a message to be dis‐
	      played with the top subcommand; normally, the first  five	 lines
	      are displayed.  Specifies the pathname of the text editor to use
	      in the visual and	 ~v  subcommands.   The	 default  pathname  is
	      /usr/bin/vi.

   Creating Aliases and Distribution Lists
       If you send mail on a large network or often send the same message to a
       large number of people, entering long addresses for each	 receiver  can
       become tedious.	To simplify this process, you can create an alias or a
       distribution list in your $HOME/.mailrc file.

       An alias is a name you define that can be  used	in  place  of  a  user
       address	when you address mail.	A distribution list is a name that you
       define that can be used in place of a group of user addresses when  you
       address mail.

       Aliases	and  distribution  lists  are used the same way and defined in
       similar ways; the only difference is the number	of  addresses  defined
       for  an	alias  (one  address)  and  a distribution list (more than one
       address).

   Changing the Information at the Top of a Message
       You can use the ignore subcommand to  suppress  message	header	fields
       that  are  normally displayed when you read a message using the type or
       print subcommands.  The four message header fields are To, Subject, Cc,
       and Bcc.

       The syntax of the ignore subcommand is as follows: ignore [field_list]

       Note  that  fields  are specified without a trailing : (colon). You can
       include the fields you want to ignore in your $HOME/.mailrc file.

   Internationalization
       [Tru64 UNIX]   The mailx command supports codeset  conversion  of  mail
       messages	 between  the  mail  interchange code (specified by the EXCODE
       environment variable) used to transmit messages to other hosts and  the
       application  code  (specified by the LANG environment variable) used by
       the user.  For example, if the mail interchange code is ISO-2022-JP and
       the application code is eucJP, the mailx program converts incoming mes‐
       sages from ISO-2022-JP to the Japanese EUC character set when  display‐
       ing them and converts outgoing mail message from the Japanese EUC char‐
       acter set to ISO-2022-JP.

       To prevent data loss, incoming mail messages are	 stored	 in  the  mail
       folders	as  received,  without conversion.  The conversion takes place
       when you display or extract mail messages.

       To encode the mail interchange code information, new header  lines  are
       added  to  the  outgoing mail messages. For example, if the mail inter‐
       change code is ISO-2022-JP, the following additional header  lines  are
       added:

       Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=ISO-2022-JP

       The  charset  field  of	the Content-Type header line provides the mail
       interchange code information.  For non-ISO codesets, the prefix	X-  is
       added  to the character set name for identification purposes. For exam‐
       ple:

       Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=X-eucJP

       For incoming mail messages, the mail interchange to be used  is	deter‐
       mined by the charset field of the additional header lines, if present.

       For  outgoing  mail  messages,  the  following rules determine the mail
       interchange code to be used:  The  EXCODE  environment  variable.   The
       excode valued option defined in $HOME/.mailrc or /usr/share/lib/Mail.rc

       The application code is determined from the codeset part of the follow‐
       ing locale information: The LANG environment variable.  The lang valued
       option  defined	in $HOME/.mailrc or /usr/share/lib/Mail.rc Defaults to
       C.

       Note that you must specify a mail interchange code to do character con‐
       version.	 There are no defaults.

       All  messages  associated  with conversion are informational only.  The
       mail messages in question are still delivered or received.

       The excode and lang options are recognized only within $HOME/.mailrc or
       /usr/share/lib/Mail.rc.	 Setting  these	 options  within  mailx has no
       effect.

RESTRICTIONS
       The mailx command uses only mailbox files.  It does not use POP or IMAP
       mailboxes.

EXAMPLES
       To  save	 a  message  to	 a  folder, enter the following at the mailbox
       prompt (?): save 1 +procedures

	      The  following  message  is   displayed:	 /u/jay/doc/procedures
	      [Appended] 32/947

	      In  this	example,  message 1 was added to the end of the folder
	      procedures.  User jay has the following set folder statement  in
	      his  $HOME/.mailrc  file so that the folder directory where that
	      folder is kept is already selected:

	      set folder=/u/jay/doc To look at the contents of a specific mail
	      folder, enter the following at the command-line prompt: mailx -f
	      +dept

	      In this example, a listing of the messages in the dept folder is
	      displayed.  To prevent the Date, From, and To headers from being
	      displayed when a message is read with the type or the print sub‐
	      command,	enter  the  following  statement in your $HOME/.mailrc
	      file: ignore date from to

	      When a message is displayed using the type or print  subcommand,
	      the  date,  from, and to headers are not displayed.  However, if
	      you want to display these headers without	 deleting  the	ignore
	      statement	 from your $HOME/.mailrc file, use the Type, Print, or
	      top subcommands to display the message.  To  keep	 a  record  of
	      messages	you  send  to others, enter the following statement in
	      your $HOME/.mailrc file: set record=letters/mailout To create  a
	      distribution  list  for  your  department,  enter	 the following
	      statement in your	 $HOME/.mailrc	file:  alias  dept  dee@merlin
	      anne@anchor jerry@zeus bill carl

	      To  send	a message to your department after you have added this
	      line to your $HOME/.mailrc file, enter the following at the com‐
	      mand line prompt: mailx dept

	      The  message  you	 now  create and send will go to dee on system
	      merlin, anne on system anchor, jerry on system zeus, and to bill
	      and carl on the local system.

FILES
       User  mailbox  files.  Holds saved mail.	 File containing mailx subcom‐
       mands to customize mailx for a specific user.   File  containing	 mailx
       subcommands to change mailx for all users on the system.

SEE ALSO
       Commands:  mail(1), fmt(1), pg(1), sendmail(8)

       Standards:  standards(5)

								      mailx(1)
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